


I Like-Like You

by shutupandfanfic



Category: Raven's Home (TV), That's So Raven
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25008505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutupandfanfic/pseuds/shutupandfanfic
Summary: When Booker has a vision of Tess exclaiming her crush on a Baxter, he immediately assumes it's him. However, Tess has been harboring feelings for Nia for a long time. | A fake-dating AU of a different kind. Kind of a slow-burn.
Relationships: Nia Baxter/Tess, Nia/Tess, Tess O'Malley/Nia Baxter-Carter
Comments: 40
Kudos: 89





	1. Booker Has a Vision (and Breaks a Lamp)

Booker liked to think of himself as an idea connoisseur of some sort, which was exactly why he had roped Levi into his latest plan: The Underwear Catapult.

“Levi, my good man,” He put his arm around the boy he considered a younger brother, “Have you ever taken off your dirty underpants and wondered ‘wherever should I put these?’”

“In the hamper, where they belong?”

“Yes, in the hamper, but oh no! It’s all the way across the room! How could I possibly get to it!”

“By…” Levi shrugged Booker’s arm off of his shoulder and walked over to the hamper, barely two feet away, and opened it. “Just walking over?”

Booker shook his head in disappointment and stood aside to reveal an object covered with a sheet, “Walking over? What are we, peasants? You have to think big, Levi, think smart. That's exactly why I created....this!” He pulled the sheet off and gestured wildly at his invention. 

“Uh… what is it?” Levi asked, staring at the weird contraption before it. He couldn’t make out a lot in the jumble of ropes holding it together, but he could make out some household items like a bowl and broom. Raven was not going to be happy when she got home. 

Booker gently caressed the side of it and grinned, obviously pleased with himself. “It’s an underwear catapult!” He looked to Levi, who looked unimpressed, “You see you put your underwear here-” he grabbed some random underwear from the floor and gagged a bit as he set it in the bowl. He really needed his mom to do laundry soon. “Then you pull this rope and tada!” Booker pulled the rope and the underwear went flying across the room- the complete opposite direction of the hamper. It landed on a lamp, which immediately fell to the ground and immediately broke on impact. 

The boys looked at each other, then at the lamp, then back at each other. “We’re in so much trouble, Levi,” Booker groaned and plopped on his bed. He’d just gotten his phone back from his previous infraction: breaking the dishwasher again after dinner last week. It wasn’t his fault the machine was so small and their plates were so big.

Levi walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “I think you mean you are in so much trouble.” Before Booker could say anything, Tess walked in without knocking and immediately noticed the broken lamp.

“Whoa, I heard a crack but I though USB drive here got sat on or something.” She laughed and walked over to Levi, putting him in a harmless headlock. 

Booker pulled Levi away, who dusted himself off and stood up straight to assert his strength. “Tess, what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be studying with Nia?” Sure, they were friends, but really Tess spent more time with either Levi or Nia, not so much with Booker. 

“Yeah, but she’s getting us snacks so I thought I’d come to bother you losers!” She took a moment to lightly kick the lampshade and chuckled, “Booker you are in so much trouble.”

“I didn’t do it, it was the underwear catapult!” Booker whined, gesturing to the contraption in front of him. Tess gave it the same unimpressed look Levi had earlier and Booker groaned. Some people just didn’t understand genius. “Get out!”

Tess shook her head and put a hand on Booker’s shoulder “Good luck with Ms.B, dude, you’re gonna need it.” Booker was about to swat her hand away when he felt an all-too familiar tingling sensation in the back of his head and purple danced around his eyes as his vision began. 

He saw Tess facing him with her eyes closed. “Baxter, I like you. Like, I like-like you.” The vision ended as quickly as it came with a flash of purple. He gasped as he came back to reality, and immediately jumped when he realized Tess’s hand was on his shoulder. 

“Did you just have a vision?” Levi asked, and Booker scoffed, trying to look as innocent as possible. He needed to get Tess out of here as soon as possible so he could figure out what that vision meant. It was obvious what it meant, right? 

“Vision? What vision? I didn’t have a vision, not me!” He laughed awkwardly as he started to push Tess out of his room. 

Tess turned around in the doorway, glaring at Booker. “Why are you acting so weird?”

“I’m not acting weird, you’re acting weird! Bye!” He closed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily as Levi watched, confused. “Levi, I just had a vision.”

“Then why’d you just-” Levi was cut off by Booker running over to him and gripping his shoulders.

“Because it was about Tess! She told me she like-liked me!” He shook Levi, who held the older boy’s shoulder to stop him from panicking.

“No way, Tess?” Booker nodded. “Tess from across the hall?” Booker nodded again. “Tess who gives you wet willies?” Another nod. “Tess with the hat-”

“Yes, Levi! That Tess! Now, what do I do?” He began to shake Levi again, and without warning received a slap to the face. Normally, this would have started a battle, but Booker was preoccupied with bigger things. 

“Get a hold of yourself man!” Levi yelled, and Booker nodded slowly, staring off into space as he sat down on his bed. He tried to focus on Levi, but the vision kept replaying over and over in his head. “Now, how do you feel about Tess?”

“I don’t know! I’ve never thought about her that way! I mean, we’re just in a group together, she’s way closer to Nia. How can I date someone who’s always gonna take my sister’s side?” Booker looked to Levi for help figuring out his feelings, but the kid just shrugged. “I mean, on the other hand, she’s not bad to look at. Not as cute as me, but that’s okay. I’m on a level few can achieve,” He laughed and dusted off his shoulder while Levi rolled her eyes. The little guy could only dream of being on Booker’s level. 

“And she’s obviously talented, I mean, imagine the power couple we could be! Both rappers, singers, and dancers. She’s not as good at basketball as me, I mean, come on.” Booker stood up and shot the toy basketball at the hoop on the back of his door, missing completely. “My arm is just a little rusty.” Nice save. 

Levi grabbed the ball, which had landed at his feet, and made a shot easily, while Booker grumbled about beginner’s luck under his breath. “So, does this mean you like Tess back?”

Booker was conflicted. This was so much harder than deciding what dirty socks to wear for the day. “I don't know, yes? Maybe?” He shrugged.

“Well, what are you going to do about it?”

“What do you mean?” Hadn’t Booker already been through enough? Now he had to do more things? This was starting to feel like school.

Levi shook his head and sighed. “You like her, she likes you, you have to ask her out!”

“I don’t know, Levi…” After all, Booker wasn’t 100% sure of his feelings, and this could totally backfire. 

“Just leave it to me, Booker!”


	2. Tess Has a Crush

Booker was usually weird, but Tess thought the guy had recently started taking it to a whole nother level since yesterday. 

When she went to pick Nia up for their walk to school, Booker opened the door to reveal himself to be dressed in a 80’s hip-hop outfit with various chains around his neck. It looked heavy and made him slouch like Tess’s grandpa. “Did I miss the memo? I didn’t know we were playing dress-up today,” she teased, picking up one of his chains and letting it drop against all the other ones with a loud ‘CLACK’. Booker winced in pain. What a wuss. 

“Thought I’d change up my look, to show the ladies I’m…likeable,” he said, trying to wink. Instead, it just looked to Tess like he was having a seizure. Luckily for her, she was saved from having to continue that conversation from Nia, who pushed past her brother so hard that his chains moved forward and caused him to tumble to the ground.

The girls laughed and linked arms, already halfway down the stairs when Nia yelled, “I’m sure all the girls will be falling for you, buddy!”

“Yo, what’s that all about?” Tess asked, hoping Nia would have an explanation for her twin’s behavior. 

She shrugged, “He probably just has another crush, you know how he gets.”

“Oooh, who’s the lucky girl this time? My money is on Miss Briggs.”

Nia scrunched up her nose in disgust and used her free arm to hit Tess playfully. “The old lady in 3C with all the chihuahuas? You’re so gross!” Tess laughed. “Either way, who cares about Booker’s love life? We have more important things to discuss!” 

“Like what? Do we have another test?” Tess started to panic. “I ain’t study for no test, what is it? Geography? I can’t do no Geography, Nia.” In reality, she wasn’t much good at school in general. But she had a special rivalry with geography. What did she need to memorize states for when there was a map in every classroom?

Nia laughed and removed their linked arms to drape one over her best friend’s shoulder. “No test, but remind me to brush up on your geography skills next time we study.” She patted Tess’ shoulder and the girl visibly relaxed. Her best friend always had that effect on her. It’s like, no matter what happened, Nia was always there to make her feel okay. She liked that. 

“If it's not geography, what's so important?” She asked as they walked into the halls of the school, hoping she didn’t forget some important date. Before Nia could answer, Zeena walked over to them, trailed by her usual posse of step team members. 

“Ladies,” she greeted, handing them each an envelope with fancy writing. “You are cordially invited to my birthday bash!” The girls opened their mouths to speak but Zeena held up her hand with a curt smile “stop- before I regret it. See you there!”

As soon as she was a safe distance away, Nia turned to Tess excitedly and they squealed. “That's what was so important! We totally have to plan the best outfits, Zeena always has the parties of the year. We can go shopping-” she ripped open the envelope and began to read it over, her face dropping. “It's a slumber party.”

“Why such a long face? We can still go shopping for the cutest pajamas!” Tess hated seeing Nia like that. Especially when she didn’t know why, so she couldn’t help. 

Nia sighed and crumpled up the invitation, throwing it haphazardly into her locker. Tess almost gasped in surprise, Nia hated a messy locker. Precisely the reason she made an effort to never look into Tess’. “My mom would never let me go to a slumber party.”

“But we have sleepovers all the time!”

Nia smiled slightly and leaned against her locker. “Haven’t you noticed they’re always at my house?”

Tess shrugged, she’d never really thought about it. As far as she was concerned, Nia’s house was like her second home. “Well why would we wanna sleep at mine? Trust me, there's nothing worse than waking up with my mother’s toenail clippings in your pajama pants.” The girls shivered in disgust. “That woman leaves those things everywhere, man.”

“At least your mom lets you sleep over at my house. My mom doesn’t trust anyone!” Nia cleared her throat and tried her best to stand like her mother, “My baby ain’t going to nobody’s house without me! You don't know their lives. What if they crazy behind them doors? Nuh-uh not on my watch.” she mimicked her mother and Tess laughed.

“You make a great Ms.B,” Tess complimented, and Nia smiled wider. Tess really, really liked it when that happened. “But you’re a teenager now, you’re like, basically an adult! She’ll come around. Just think positive!”

“Yeah! You’re right! I’m a woman now!” She gestured to herself, and Tess reached forward to pull her hands down as a group of boys walked by, eyebrows raised in question. 

The girls smiled at them awkwardly, and Tess hesitated for a moment before letting Nia’s hand go. She really liked holding her best friend’s hand, but she knew that wasn’t something that she should really think about. “Might wanna keep your woman parts to yourself, Nia.” It was hard to tell who was more embarrassed, but Tess thought that they were probably for different reasons.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nia cleared her throat. “But can you be there when I ask my mom?”

Now it was Tess’s turn to raise her eyebrow in confusion. “Your mom barely even likes me.”  
Nia rolled her eyes before putting an arm around her best friend and leading her to class. “She loves you, it's just tough love is all. Besides,” she paused and turned her head to look at her, “I want you there for support.” Tess tried her hardest to not let the lack of space between them get to her. Their faces were barely inches apart, which happened often, but it still made her heart soar every time. This wasn’t how she was supposed to feel about her best friend. 

Tess coughed and shouldered her bookbag, sliding Nia’s arm off in the process. “Yeah, sure, will totally be there,” she choked out, “see you after school!” Before Nia could say anything, Tess ran off to her homeroom. The same homeroom they shared. She didn’t really think that part through.


	3. Booker Embarrasses Himself (Again)

When Booker had finally managed to get himself off of the ground, he immediately changed his outfit before meeting up with Levi for their walk to school. “It didn’t work, Levi, she thought I looked stupid.” 

Levi put a finger on his chin, deep in thought. “Hmm.. time for plan B then.”

“There's a plan B?”

Levi shook his head in disappointment. “Of course there's a plan B, Booker, what are we? Animals?” Booker shrugged as they walked into the school, where they could see Tess practically sprinting away from Nia like she had the plague. 

“What was that about?” Booker asked as he opened his locker and immediately recoiled at the smell. He really needed to wash those gym shorts. Or burn them. Whichever was safer to keep whatever was growing in them from becoming sentient. 

“She’s being weird around Nia cause she has a crush on you, duh,” Levi explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“What does that have to do with Nia?” Booker asked, which caused Levi to look up as if he was asking whatever beings that existed why he had to deal with this.

“Because,” Levi started as he threw his gym shoes into his locker, “It’s girl code, Booker. Best friends can’t have a crush on their best friend’s brother.”

Booker didn’t like the sound of that. He looked over at Nia, who was standing in the middle of the hallway pretending to be on her phone. He knew she was pretending because she looked a cross between confused and hurt as she aggressively scrolled through Peanut Face without pausing to even read any captions. Could she somehow know?

“Nia!” Booker called and slammed his locker shut before rushing over to her. She looked him up and down, a small smile on her face.

“What happened to your outfit? Too many girls falling over themselves to get to you?” She teased, and Booker scoffed. He totally could have pulled off that outfit. He was just off his game that morning. It happens to every great man once in a while. 

“Maybe.” He dusted off his shoulder, a move he’d seen the cool guys do in the old movies his mom and aunt Chelsea made him watch. “But, speaking of girls… you wouldn't happen to know any that want a piece of the bookman?” He tried to say this as casually as he could since he knew Nia was good at reading him. Way too good. 

Nia scrunched her nose in disgust and crossed her arms. “So I was right, you do have a crush.” Booker found himself shrinking under his sister’s gaze. He had to admit, it was scary how much she looked like their mother sometimes. “Who is it?”

“No one!” Booker blurted out, suddenly not liking where this was going. He was hoping Nia would just tell him what he needed to know, but his sister was as stubborn as him. According to their mom, they got it from their dad and according to their dad…

“I know when you’re lying.” Nia countered.

Was it getting hot? Booker was starting to feel hot. Was he sweating? “I’m not lying! Maybe you’re lying!” He blurted out, pointing an accusatory finger at her. 

Nia scoffed and folded her arms. “What could I possibly be lying about?”

Booker opened and closed his mouth, trying (and failing) to think of something. Luckily for him, the bell rang. “Igottagotoclass!” He yelled, and shouldered his bag before running to homeroom. He could hear Nia mutter ‘why do people keep doing that?’ as he turned the corner and barged into a room. Full of sixth graders. Definitely not his class. 

“Hey, how y’all doing?” He smiled awkwardly as he slowly backed out of the room, trying not to make eye contact with the staring kids or the teacher who was giving him a dirty look. As soon as he was halfway out the door, he sprinted back in the direction he came in. Today was definitely not Booker’s day. 

As he listed all the things that had already gone wrong that morning, he bumped into someone. Or, more specifically, he rammed into Tess, bumping their foreheads together. “Ow! Watch it, man!” Tess groaned, putting a hand up to her temple. Booker did the same, his head pounding from the collision. 

“What are you doing here?” He questioned as soon as stars stopped dancing around his eyes.

Tess gave him an ‘are you kidding me?’ glare. “I go to school here, duh.”

Booker rolled his eyes half-heartedly as he massaged his forehead. “I meant in the hallway, don’t you have homeroom?”

“I was going to get water before class, Sherlock.” She gestured to the water fountain, which he was blocking, and Booker shuffled to the side. Tess began to fill up her water bottle, and the awkwardness seemed to fill the room just like the water in the bottle. 

“You drink water? So do I! Isn’t that crazy!” Booker said, trying to spark conversation. Tess laughed awkwardly and tried not to look at him like he was crazy. He didn’t know what was happening to him, he was never nervous around Tess. At least, he was never nervous before he knew she liked him, and in turn that he maybe, possibly, liked her back. These new teenage emotions were confusing. 

Tess put the cap back on her bottle and gave him a strained smile before rushing back to her class. Booker sighed and rubbed his head again. He really needed to up his game.


	4. Tess Helps Nia (And Gets Some Gumbo)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thank you so much for the comments I love seeing that people actually read this :) I'm new to writing multi-chapter fics so bear with me and I'm always receptive to feedback or any ideas !!

Tess had been in the Baxter's living room for two hours as Nia tried to convince her mother to let her go to the party. She’d even brought out a PowerPoint titled, ‘Reasons Why Nia Should Go To The Party’ which Tess tried her best not to fall asleep through. The same couldn’t be said for Raven, who was snoring by slide three. By hour two, Nia resorted to her last resort: straight-up begging. 

“Please, mom!” Nia pleaded for the millionth time, pouting her lips. Tess wondered how Ms.B could stand to say no to that face, she definitely couldn’t.

Despite the display of adorableness that Nia was exhibiting, Raven shook her head. “Nia, no. I don’t know those people and I’m not letting my baby go to a stranger’s house.” 

Nia looked to Tess and she mouthed 'do something! help!' Tess widened her eyes in fear, she couldn’t go against Ms.B and win. No one could. 'what am I supposed to do?' Instead of responding, Nia gave her the puppy dog eyes. It was like she knew the effect they had on Tess. 

Tess cleared her throat, trying not to show the fear in her eyes when Raven turned her attention to her. “Ms. B, why don’t you just talk to her parents? Then they’re not strangers!” She suggested. Raven raised her eyebrows in silent questioning and Tess reached into her jacket to pull out the crumpled invite. “Her dad’s number is on it! And you see Mr.Kamakamee'Leon all the time at the PTA meetings!”

For a moment, she thought Raven was going to ask her why she was in her house, eating her food (to be fair, they left the 30-minute gumbo just sitting there. It was like they were asking her to take it). She almost sighed in relief when Raven seemed to actually be thinking it through. Nia squeezed her arm in anticipation and Tess tried to ignore the butterflies that erupted in her stomach. 

“That’s her dad?” Raven adjusted her hair and cleared her throat. “You think you can get another invite to this sleepover?”

Nia groaned and Tess tried her hardest not to break out in laughter. “Get it, Ms.B!” She put her hand up for a high five but Raven swatted it away. It was worth a shot. 

“Tess, girl, I worry about you sometimes.” Raven shook her head and sighed, putting her hands on her waist. “Ok,” Raven seemed to be choosing her words carefully, “If it's really that important to you-”

“Yes!” Nia yelled, and Tess winced at the loud noise right next to her ear. “It is that important! I-”

Raven put a finger up, and Nia shut her mouth in an instant. “Girl, if you don’t let me finish, the only ones you having a sleepover with are your brother and Levi.”

“Yes ma’am.” Nia nodded and straightened her posture. 

“If I hear of you-” she paused and pointed at both of them. “Either of you, causing any trouble, you gonna get it. Am I clear?”

“Yes ma’am!” They spoke in unison, and Tess frowned after she realized something.

“Wait, you’re not my mom!” She blurted out and regretted as soon as it left her mouth. 

Raven pursed her lips. “Then why you always in my fridge?” 

“Let’s go before she changes her mind,” Nia half-whispered and the girls raced to Nia’s room, shutting the door behind them. As soon as they were safely in the room, Tess was taken aback by Nia’s arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Tess couldn’t help the large grin that broke out as she hugged her best friend back. “You know I couldn’t go to a party without my girl.” She hesitated at the last part. She’d always called Nia her girl, but lately, that started to come with a different meaning.

She was suddenly aware of how long the hug had been going on and pulled away, the grin replaced by an awkward smile. She swore she could see Nia’s smile falter for a moment too, but if it did, it returned as quickly as it left. “So!” Nia clapped her hands together. “What are we wearing!”

“Anything you pick is gonna look great on you, so I’m not worried” Tess replied, hoping it didn’t come off as flirty as it felt. Friends could say that to other friends, right? Totally platonic. The most platonic thing ever. No romantic feelings here, none whatsoever!

Nia’s smile softened and she took Tess’s hand to pull her over to her bed, which caused Tess’ heart to skip a beat. They usually linked arms, so handholding was something that Tess didn’t do much. She wished they did it more. 

They sat on the bed and Nia grabbed her laptop to pull up an online shopping website. This meant she let go of Tess’s hand, and Tess had to keep herself from sighing in disappointment. It was good while it lasted. Either way, she told herself, she shouldn’t be having feelings like that towards her best friend. 

“Why are you so far?” Nia questioned, and Tess shook herself out of her thoughts. She hadn’t even realized she left so much space between them, something that was never there throughout their friendship. Tess shimmied over slightly and Nia frowned. “You’ve been acting so weird lately, was it something I said?”

Tess’s heart was suddenly racing. “No, you didn’t do anything.”

“Then what’s up?” Nia reached out to hold her hand and Tess tried to hardest to keep a steady breath.

This was it, the moment where she could tell Nia about her feelings. About how she was suddenly so drawn to her in a more-than-best friend’s way. About how when she imagined being a relationship, the only one she could imagine herself with was her. About how every time they held hands the butterflies in her stomach had a stampede. 

“I’m…” She glanced at Nia, who was looking at her expectedly. She squeezed Tess’s hand in encouragement and Tess let out a sigh. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t lose Nia over some stupid crush. “I’m just tired. My mom was blasting her new ‘sleep noises’ machine last night. I don’t get what's calming about ‘sleepy jungle’” Tess shivered. 

She could see Nia visibly relax. “Oh! We can just watch something then.” She pulled up Netflix and put on Weirder Things- immediately skipping to Tess’s favorite episode. Tess liked how she remembered things like that, things that no one else bothered to remember. 

Without saying anything, Nia put her arm around Tess, as if she knew Tess was looking for any reason to get farther from her. They watched in silence, but Tess could barely pay attention to the show in front of her. She was more aware of the girl sitting next to her. The girl who she most definitely had a crush on. This was suddenly too complicated.


	5. Booker (Levi) Makes a Plan

Booker and his mother shared many traits, specifically a hate for gardening. While Raven didn’t like dirt, Booker just didn’t like the work. Why do manual labor for gross vegetables anyways?

This was why, instead of helping Levi garden (which they were forced to do because of Booker’s ‘underwear catapult’ incident), he sat on one of the lounge chairs and brainstormed ideas to win over Tess. So far, they had all been great in Booker’s opinion. Levi didn’t exactly agree.

“Booker, where would we even find a giant basketball to put you in?”

Booker groaned as he crumpled up his seventh piece of paper and threw it at the bin, which completely missed. “That was a great idea, you just don’t have my artistic vision.”

“Maybe you’d have better ideas if you helped me garden,” Levi suggested with a shrug. 

Booker looked up from his notepad, where he’d started doodling a pineapple wearing a cowboy hat. Man, at this rate he was going to be the next Picasso. “What does that have to do with me asking out Tess?”

“Nothing, I was just trying to get you to help,” Levi admitted as he threw a glove at Booker. It landed on his leg and he sighed as he put it on, kneeling next to Levi at a flower bed. Maybe unnecessary manual labor could get his thoughts together.

“Why is talking to girls so complicated? It’s almost like she doesn’t even like me!” Booker complained as he started poking around the flowers. He found a worm and put it in his hands, watching it wiggle around. 

Levi pulled some weeds and dropped them on the floor. “But you had that vision, she literally says she likes you.”

“Oooh! Who likes you?”

The boys jumped in alarm, causing Booker to drop the worm and Levi to send dandelions flying. They landed on Booker, who was staring at his Aunt Chelsea in alarm. “Where did you come from?” He asked as he caught his breath. 

“Well, originally I’m from San Francisco,” Chelsea started, then raised the bags in her arms to show them. “But right now I was at the plant store getting a few things!”

The boys looked at eachother, and Booker sent a silent message to Levi to keep his mouth shut. If he hadn’t told Nia yet, no one could know about the Tess thing. 

“So,” Chelsea put down the bags and sat on a lounge chair. “I couldn’t help but overhear that you’re having girl troubles. I do have some expertise on that because I, in fact, am a girl myself.” She chuckled, and the boys stared at her blankly. “Well, more of a woman but ah, whatever.” She waved herself off. “The point is if this girl likes you just ask her out!” Chelsea suggested, patting Booker on the shoulder. 

Booker scoffed. “I can’t just ask her out!” For some reason, Booker found that idea insane. He couldn’t just go up to Tess and ask her out… could he?

“Well, why not?” Chelsea questioned.

Booker said what his mother always said to him when she didn’t have an answer: “Because!” 

“That’s not an answer,” Levi pointed out, and his mother nodded in agreement. Booker didn’t know what was worse, the fact that Levi wasn’t taking his side, or that he was considering dating advice from his Aunt Chelsea.

“Uh…” He racked his brain for an excuse and patted his pockets. “I don’t have any money, where would I even take her?” He dusted himself off as if it was the end of the discussion, but Levi pulled him down before he could escape. 

“What about up here?” Levi suggested, and his mother beamed as he gestured around the roof. 

“Yeah! A roof garden is a perfect place for a date.” She leaned in close to Booker as if about to share a secret. “Hey, if you want, I’ll make some of my famous beet juice. Girls love their fiber.”

Booker and Levi gagged at the thought of having to drink another sip of beet juice. “Trust me, mom, no one wants that. How about some chocolate covered strawberries?”

Chelsea reached over to pinch Levi on the cheek, which he immediately moved away from. “Since when is my little boy such a romantic?”

Levi smiled proudly, “Well, I have been catching up on ‘Love, Pedro’ recently.”

Booker raised his eyebrows, “Since when do you watch soap operas?”

“It’s purely for educational purposes!” Levi complained and Booker put his hands up as if to convey he wasn’t judging. What Levi did on his own time was his business, even if it was pretty weird.

“Remind me to set parental controls,” Chelsea sighed and got up, dusting some stray dirt off of her pants. “See you two at dinner, good luck!”

As she left, Levi took off his gloves and turned to Booker with a serious look. “All right, Booker, this is plan z, the ultimate plan. I’m gonna need 24 hours, a tablecloth, and some candles. I’ll handle the strawberries.”

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Booker complained as he put the worm from before back into the flower bed, 

“Dude,” Levi crossed his arms. “Do you want this date to be perfect or not?”

Booke hesitated, then nodded. 

“Good, now let’s go get dinner. It’s Taco night!” Levi raced down the stairs, leaving Booker alone on the roof.

This was becoming very real, very fast. It had barely even been two days since he found out about Tess’s feelings for him and here he was, planning the perfect date. He really hoped this wasn’t one of the visions that went completely wrong, but how could it? It was pretty clear- he saw Tess confessing her feelings to him. There was nothing that could ruin it. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your comments! It really makes writing this so much fun and more rewarding! I hope you liked this chapter and let me know anything you want to see in the future :)


	6. Tess Discovers Gay Panic

It was one in the morning when Tess realized that liking Nia was way more complicated than having a simple crush. Really, she’d thought about it before but had pushed it to the back of her mind, but it was starting to become more and more of an issue. The fact of the matter was, Nia was a girl. And so was Tess. That meant that Tess, a girl, liked another girl. 

Part of her knew she shouldn’t be freaking out like this, after all this was the best time in history to be… whatever she was. She wasn’t sure. Still, she felt the need to figure herself out. Which is exactly why she was on her third “am I gay?” quiz that night. 

So far, Buzzfeed and allthetests.com had confirmed what she figured she had known for a while: she was a lesbian. Still, test after test she was waiting for one of them to prove this was all just a misunderstanding. “Surprise! You’re not gay! You don’t have a crush on your best friend! It’s all just puberty!”

After she received another gay result, she slammed her laptop shut with a little too much force. She wished she didn’t have this problem. That she could just be normal and have a crush on some guy instead of her best friend. What were people going to think?

She usually didn’t care about other people’s perceptions of her, but this felt more serious than anything Tess had to deal with ever. She’d heard stories of people getting beaten up, kicked out of their homes, even killed just for liking someone of the same gender. This was all too much, too fast. 

Her eyes were starting to get clouded with tears, she needed her friend. She texted Nia asking if she could come over and within seconds received a response. Without hesitating, she grabbed her lockpick and snuck across the hall with ease. Or, at least, Tess thought it was easy up until she and Raven locked eyes as soon as she stepped into Baxter's living room. 

“Tess, what in the world are you doing breaking into my house at one in the morning?” Raven asked, ready to give a lecture but stopping in her tracks once she saw the tears streaming down Tess’s face. “Oh, sweetheart what's wrong?”

Before Tess could form a thought, she was enveloped in a hug. It was like her body was on autopilot because she immediately broke out into a sob. She didn’t know how long the hug lasted, but as soon as her sobs sighed down, Raven pulled away and patted the space on the couch next to her and Tess flopped down, sniffling quietly. “Now, if you wanna go see Nia you’re gonna have to tell me what's wrong.”

“I like someone.” Tess blurted out, and Raven raised her eyebrows as if she knew something that Tess didn’t. She suddenly felt very awkward talking about her crush to her mother. 

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Tess sighed and used the back of her hand to wipe her wet cheeks. “Ain’t nothing good about it, Ms.B.” Out of all the people she could like, it had to be a girl. A girl who she didn’t want to lose over some dumb feelings. 

“Well,” Raven paused as if trying to choose her words carefully. “How does this person make you feel?”

Tess didn’t even think about it, she just spoke. “Like... Like I just won a game. Like, my insides are all messed up but in the best way. and my heart starts racing and I’m just... happy. Like, real happy.” She couldn’t help but smile, and Raven squeezed her shoulder gently. 

“Well, that sounds like a great thing to me.”

Tess’s smile faded as quickly as it came and she could feel her eyes getting cloudy again. “It doesn't feel too great right now.”

“Maybe this person feels the same way?” Raven tried, with a suggestive tone that Tess couldn’t quite figure out. 

“Doubt it.” She mumbled. Tess might be known for her sick flow and basketball skills, but she wasn’t exactly famous for her optimism. 

“You know, when Devon and I were in high school there were days I doubted it all.” She sighed as she reminisced on her high school days. “I dressed up as a pirate for that boy and embarrassed myself in front of a restaurant full of kids, but you know how I knew it was worth it?”

“Uh, no offense Ms.B, but didn’t you get a divorce?” Tess asked without thinking. She’d been told for years to get a filter, but she never took that advice. 

Raven pursed her lips. “Watch it, Tess.”

“Okay, okay, just saying,” Tess put her hands up in defense. “Uh, when did you know?”

“When he kissed me and I got to call that boy mine, it was like all the stress was worth it. You just gotta go and get your person, Tess. Whenever you’re ready.” Tess wanted to feel hopeful about the advice, but she couldn’t help but feel like their circumstances were different. Still, she felt somewhat more at peace than before. Raven gave her hand one last tight squeeze before getting up. “Go on to Nia’s room, I’ll text your mom to let her know you’re here.”

Tess got up and wiped her eyes on her pajama sleeve. “Thanks, Ms.B. You know, you’re not too bad when you’re not yelling.”

Raven sighed and waved Tess away. “Tess we just had a nice moment, get your butt to bed or you gonna get it.” Tess didn’t need to be told twice, she made her way into the hall and immediately heard a door shut at the end of the hall. The panic began to set in once more when she began to think about what that sound could mean. It could either mean someone went for a midnight tinkle, or someone heard that entire conversation. What if it was Nia?

She was about to make an escape back to her apartment when she turned around and was face-to-face with a very tired looking Nia. “Oh! I was gonna go and open the door for you…” She paused, leaning in closer to Tess’s face so she could see better in the dark hallway. “Are you crying?”

Tess was usually quick-witted, but she just couldn’t find any words. She just shrugged, and Nia took her hand to quietly lead her towards her room and the two climbed into bed silently. They laid facing each other, so close that Tess was glad Nia liked to sleep in the pitch dark so she couldn't see how puffy her eyes were. 

“You know you can tell me anything,” Nia whispered, and Tess nodded. “Did you just nod? You know I can’t see anything.”

“I’ve just been off my game lately,” Tess whispered back, staring into the darkness. It was a lame excuse and didn’t feel fair to Nia, but Raven told her to wait until she was ready. Tess sure didn’t feel ready at all. In fact, she felt the opposite of ready. Was there a word for that? Man, she really had to start paying more attention to the ‘Word of The Day’ calendar.

“You’re gonna get your game back, I know it.” Nia encouraged, and Tess couldn’t help but smile softly. 

“How do you know?” Tess asked, her whisper so low that she thought that Nia couldn’t hear it. She didn’t know how she was going to come to terms with anything that she was feeling lately. It all felt so out of reach, like when she was a kid and would try to get in her dad’s truck without help. 

“Because you’re Tess O’Malley. You’re strong and talented and amazing in every way.” Nia replied, her voice so sure and soft that Tess couldn’t help but be thankful for the darkness in the room. She was sure she looked like a tomato, her cheeks were so warm that Tess was afraid if Nia said anything else to her it would start a fire. 

After what seemed like forever of silence, Tess mumbled a small “Thanks, Nia,” and hoped her voice didn’t give away how much the butterflies in her stomach were stampeding.

“Goodnight, Tess.”

“Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to @larray_eilish on Wattpad for the inspiration behind some of this chapter :)


	7. Booker Goes on a Date (Sort of)

Let’s be clear: Booker didn’t mean to eavesdrop. He was just heading to the bathroom for his midnight tinkle when he heard sounds coming from the living room and decided to do a little investigating. 

If Booker was any other person, he would have walked away. But he didn’t. He listened to the whole conversation. When he saw Tess moving towards his hiding spot in the shadows of the halls, he ran into his room and shut the door as quietly as he could, hoping she didn’t see him. That wouldn't be a good look for him.

It took him a while to fall asleep that night, but he found that he was excited. Tess was going to be so happy, right? She said it herself, she doubted that the person she liked, liked her back. Tomorrow, he would show her the roof and reveal his feelings. Sure, they would have to deal with telling Nia. But they could do that together. Everything was finally working out.

The next day, Booker even made sure to put on a clean shirt and some deodorant. Nia was out for some political youth group, so it was no surprise when he found Tess sitting at the table eating breakfast by herself. “Hey, Tess!” He greeted, cringing at the crack in his voice. Man, why his body had to betray him like that when he was trying to be smooth?

“What's up, Booker?” She greeted him with a mouth full of sandwich. 

“Uh,” Booker pulled out a chair next to her and tried to look as casual as possible. “I was wondering if you wanted to…” she glanced up at him and Booker began to sweat. “play some ball on the roof? I've been practicing my lay-ups.”

Tess sighed. “I don’t know, dude, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately-”

“I know,” Booker said without thinking, and Tess turned to look at him with a confused expression. How could he possibly know what was going on with Tess if she hadn’t said anything? Oops. “I mean…” he chuckled awkwardly. “I know that basketball helps you get your groove on!”

Tess seemed to be thinking it over for a moment and shrugged. “Alright, I’m down. But let me get another sandwich, Ms.G always buys the good stuff.”

“The good stuff?”

Tess pointed at her sandwich as if it was obvious. “The good deli meat, duh. Come on, Booker, keep up.”

After Tess finished her third sandwich, the two made their way up to the roof, which Levi had expertly decorated the day before. There sat a table in the middle, with a white tablecloth, a few (electric) candles, and a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries. Booker was so impressed, he might have almost started calling Levi the ‘Love Genius’ like he was always begging people to do. 

“Whoa, what's with all this fancy stuff?” Tess asked, picking up one of the duck-shaped napkins and accidentally unraveling it. She slowly put it back on the table and stuffed a few strawberries in her mouth. Finders-keepers, after all. 

“Didn’t you just have three sandwiches?” Booker asked, incredulous as to all of that food fit in Tess’ stomach. 

“What can I say?” Tess spoke with her mouth full again, which meant that Booker could barely make out what she was saying. “I’m a growing girl.”

As Tess continued to eat the strawberries, Booker took a deep breath. He could do this. It was just Tess, after all. He’d spoken to Tess hundred of times. “Listen, Tess. I did all this. Well, it was mostly Levi, but I mean, it was for me.”

“Levi did this for you?” Tess asked, a concerned look on her face. “Man, that kid is weird.”

“No!” Booker groaned. “He did it for me, so I could come here with you.” Tess looked even more confused now but didn’t say anything. Booker took that as a sign to continue. “I know you like-like me, Tess. And I wanted it to be special when I told you that I liked you too!” Booker smiled, but Tess just stared at him with a blank expression. 

“Uh, Tess? You gonna say anything?” He waved a hand in front of her face, but she swatted it away. 

“You were eavesdropping, weren’t you?” Tess asked, anger written across her features. This was not going how Booker planned at all. 

“Well, I mean, I wouldn't call it eavesdropping!” Booker tried, but Tess grabbed the waddled-up napkin and threw it at his chest. It landed on the floor. “But- But you said you liked me! I heard it!”

“I said I liked someone, what makes you think it was you?”

Booker tried to come up with an excuse, but he thought back to the last time Tess found out he was meddling with his visions. It was better to just come clean at this point. “I had a vision.”

Tess scoffed. “No way. You had a vision of me saying I liked you?”

Now Booker was starting to become confused. “I did! I swear! You had your eyes closed and you said-” He paused to clear his throat and spoke in a high-pitched voice, trying to imitate Tess. “Baxter, I like you. Like, I like-like you.” 

The color drained from Tess’s face. “I don’t sound like that.”

Booker took her expression as proof that he was right, and beamed with happiness. “See? I was right.”

“Listen, Booker.” She put a hand to her head and started massaging her temple. “I don’t like you.”

“But my visions are never wrong!” Tess gave him a look and Booker sighed. “Okay, they’re almost never wrong. I know what I saw! If you don’t like me then why would you say Baxter?”

“Man, why do you care so much? Haven’t I told you to keep your visions out of my life?” Tess asked, and Booker grimaced as he remembered when Tess got rejected by Jordan a few years ago. 

“But,” Booker argued, “this time it has to do with my life! This vision was about me too!”

Tess groaned in annoyance. “It’s not about you dude!”

“Who else could it be about? The only Baxters in our school are me and…” Tess’s eyes widened in fear and Booker’s widened in realization. “Nia?” He asked, even though he already knew the answer by the way Tess avoided his eyes. “Oh…” 

Tess didn’t like him. At all. She liked his sister. He didn’t know whether to be more sad or embarrassed. He’d been hyping himself up all week, wearing ridiculous outfits and thinking up detailed plans, just for Tess to like Nia. Out of all the ways his vision could have turned out, he didn’t expect this one at all. 

“I guess my vision means you were planning on telling her?” Booker guessed, but Tess looked terrified again. 

“No way!” She practically yelled, “I can’t tell her, and there’s no way you’re gonna tell her.”

“Tess, you have to tell Nia about your crush!” Booker argued. He heard how much she’d been agonizing over it and, even though she didn’t like him like that, he cared about her wellbeing. 

“Tell me about what crush?” Booker and Tess jumped at Nia’s sudden appearance. She was standing at the entrance of the roof, looking between them and the fancy table. “Am I interrupting something?” She asked, but no one spoke. “Is this a date?” She sounded a little hurt when she said the last part, and Booker suddenly felt very, very guilty. 

“Yes!” Tess blurted out, and Booker turned to look at her. “Me and Booker are on a date!”

“We are?” Booker asked, incredulously. Tess kicked him in the shin and he tried to keep from yelling out in pain. “I mean, yeah, we are.” He lied, and the guilt multiplied by tenfold. He never lied to Nia, but he also didn’t want to break Tess’s trust. How did he keep getting himself into situations like this?

“Oh…” Nia said, and there was a flash of emotions on her face that Booker couldn’t quite read. But, call it intuition or whatever, but he knew she was hurt. Really hurt. Without saying anything else, she left the roof.

Tess and Booker were silent for a moment as they both tried to comprehend what happened. This whole situation got so messy, so quick. 

“We are so gonna get it.”


	8. Tess Lies Even More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I've been working on mental health stuff :) Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave comments on what you liked or want to see more of!

“What was that? I thought you didn’t like me!” Booker asked as soon as he got his thoughts together.   
Tess groaned and dropped her head into her hands “I don’t know! I panicked!” She felt sick to her stomach about lying to Nia, but it had just spilled out. She couldn’t let Nia know she had feelings for her. “We can just say this was a one-time thing! You asked me out, we went on a date, and we didn’t feel it. Problem solved!” 

Booker frowned. “What makes you think that's gonna work? It seems a little… simple.”

Tess rolled her eyes. Of course Booker would say that. “Not all of us make stupidly complicated plans. So unless you have something better, Einstein, we should go fix this before I lose my best friend.”

“Why don’t you just tell her the truth?” Booker asked, sounding genuinely concerned. Tess faltered for a moment. When she envisioned coming out, she never imagined the first person to know would be Booker. 

“You don’t get it, Booker.” Tess tried to find the words to explain, but she feared that saying the things she was avoiding out loud would make them unavoidable. Instead of saying anything else, she turned towards the stairs, not bothering to check that he was following her. They walked silently and Tess took a deep breath before opening the door to the Baxter-Carter-Grayson’s apartment. 

As soon as they walked in, Raven, Chelsea, and Levi looked up from the table where the two women were working on their company. “Oh! How was your date?” Chelsea asked excitedly, and Tess felt her heart drop.

“How did you know we were on a date?” Booker asked, trying and failing to mask the worry in his voice. Tess hoped her own panic wasn’t noticeable. This was more people than they intended on lying to. 

Raven and Chelsea pointed at Levi, who shrugged. “I told them everything, I had to brag to someone about my skills as the love doctor.” Levi pulled out two cards from his shirt pocket and handed one each to Chelsea and Raven. “Ladies, tell your friends.”

Raven threw the card right back at Levi. “Your kid is weird, Chels.” Levi just slipped the card back into his pocket, all three of them unaware of the internal panic that Tess was going through just six feet away from them. 

“Like, everything?” Tess asked, trying to keep her voice from wavering. “Everything-everything?”

Levi nodded and put up his fingers in air quotes. “Yeah, ‘everything-everything.’ The vision, the date, all of it. Your mom is very good at getting information,” He pointed at Booker, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else at that moment.   
“Lit! We’ll be right back!” She started walking backward and grabbed Booker by the hoodie, pulling him out of the door. “Talk amongst yourselves!” She tried her best to smile convincingly, but as soon as the door closed her face got deadly serious as she looked Booker in the eye. “We have to keep this going.”

“I thought this was a one-time thing!”

Tess sighed and rubbed her temples. This was somehow even more stressful than the geography test last week. “If they know about the vision, they’re gonna question it. No offense, B, but if you figured it out, they for sure will too.” Tess explained, and Booker looked insulted for a moment before sighing.

“But I don’t want to keep lying,” he complained, and Tess decided she had to pull a Nia. She did her best impression of the puppy-dog eyes and Booker seemed to think it over for a second. “Alright, fine, but I get to break up with you.” Tess grimaced and Booker smoothed down his shirt, trying to make himself look dignified. “We have to make it believable, right? Who would believe that the Book-man got dumped?”

Tess rolled her eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Booker frowned, but before he could say anything, Tess turned him around. “You deal with the three musketeers in there and I’ll deal with Nia.”

“Wait, isn’t Nia in her room?” Booker asked, a hand on the door as Tess began to race down the stairs. 

Tess peeked her head around the corner. “She’s at the café, that's where she goes whenever she’s in a bad mood.” She explained, and Booker shrugged before stepping through the door. Tess continued her descent and made her way to the Café, suddenly aware of how messy this situation was getting. 

She knew it was for the best, though, because if Nia was already mad at her for just dating her brother then she couldn’t imagine her reaction if she found out who her actual crush was. Tess hesitated before walking into the café and looked at Nia through the window. Somehow, she was so pretty even when she was sad. Even that couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in Tess’ chest when she saw how hurt Nia really was. 

She took a deep breath before entering the café and sat across from Nia. The silence between them was almost deafening, and Tess hated that this was the one moment where her brain didn’t have something to say. “I’m sorry-” they blurted out at the same time, and looked at each other quizzically. 

“Wait, what are you sorry for?” Tess asked and Nia sighed as she picked at the muffin on her plate. 

“I didn’t even let you explain, I just ran off because of my own stupid feelings and-”

“Your feelings?” She interrupted without thinking and Nia froze. Tess could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She didn’t even know why those words stuck out to her, but the way Nia said it made it seem important. They felt important.

Nia seemed to be choosing her next words carefully. She avoided Tess’ eyes. “Tess, you’re my… best friend,” she said that last part softly, barely loud enough for Tess to hear. “I guess I’m just jealous that you’re choosing my brother over me like everyone else does.”

Tess took Nia’s hand across the table, not even caring what anyone around them thought. She just wanted her best friend to know she was there. “I could never choose anyone over you, especially not Booker.” she tried her best to not sound disgusted at that last part. Fake-dating Booker was going to be a nightmare. “You’re my girl, Nia.” Saying that came so naturally to Tess, that she couldn’t help but wonder if that's just what she was meant to do.

Nia smiled at her softly, which sent the butterflies in Tess’ stomach tumbling. “No more secrets?” Nia asked, letting go of Tess’s hand to put up her pinky. 

Tess swallowed the lump in her throat and interlocked their pinkies. “No more secrets.”


	9. Booker Learns From Pedro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :) It makes me so happy that other people are enjoying this ship as much as I do! I love reading your comments!!

As soon as Booker got in bed that night, he told Levi everything. The younger boy was silent for the most part, and Booker worried that he fell asleep, but after a while Levi spoke from his bottom bunk. “Booker, you shouldn’t have told me that about Tess.” That confused Booker so much he had to lean over the top bunk to look down at his little brother. 

“What do you mean? I tell you everything.” 

Levi sighed and leaned over the edge of his own bed so he could see Booker better. “This is different, you just outed Tess without her permission.” He explained. 

The older boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What’s outing and how did I just do that to Tess? Why do I need her permission?”

“Tess likes Nia, right?” Booker nodded, and Levi continued. “That means that Tess is probably gay, or bisexual, or pansexual, or-” Booker put a hand up to let Levi know he got it. “Since you told me that about her, it means you just outed her. You need someone's permission to out them because it’s kind of a big deal.”

Booker didn’t know what to make out of all of this. “But why is it a big deal if Tess likes girls?”

Levi shook his head, “It's not about Tess liking girls, it's about her deciding who she tells. She gets to decide who knows, not you or anyone else.”

Booker thought about it for a moment, then nodded in understanding. “I get it, it’s kind of like my visions. I would be pretty mad if Tess told someone without asking me first.” Levi smiled in the darkness, glad that Booker was finally getting it. “I’ll say sorry tomorrow.” He decided, before rolling over and getting comfortable in bed again. “Hey, how do you know so much about that stuff anyways?”

“Oh, Margarita from Love, Pedro came out as a bisexual so there was an episode on it.” Booker tried his best to keep from laughing. His little brother and his soap-opera habits were so weird, but they did come in handy sometimes. 

The next morning, Booker didn’t even rush to beat Nia to the bathroom, which she noticed immediately. 

“You’re not pulling a Lightning McQueen this morning?” She asked, raising an eyebrow as she opened the bathroom door. 

Booker shook his head and draped his towel over his shoulder. “No, I just want to make sure we’re cool, since, you know.” He dragged out the last part and swore he saw Nia frown for a second before she put on an obviously fake smile. 

“Yeah, most def, bro!” She ‘playfully’ hit his arm, but Booker winced in pain. Since when did Nia have any sort of upper arm strength? “Just, don’t do all that gross coupley stuff in front of me.” She said it in a joking manner, but Booker could tell that there was a little bit of hurt in her words. Why did this bother her so much? Before he could ask, she practically slammed the door in his face. 

He decided he would just get ready later and made his way to the living room, where Tess was practically inhaling a sandwich at the dining table. Since no one else was around, he took this opportunity and cleared his throat to get her attention. She looked up from her sandwich, a drop of ketchup on her chin. “Look, I have to tell you something-”

Tess swallowed her bite and put a hand up to tell him to wait. “Dude, you can’t break up with me, we’ve only been vibing for a day.” 

Booker rolled his eyes and took a seat across from her. “No, it's not that. I, uh, I told Levi everything last night and-” He could see the panic start to rise in Tess’s eyes. “He told me that I shouldn’t have, because it’s your thing to say, and I’m really sorry.”

“You really couldn’t keep my business to yourself just this once?” Tess asked, her voice cracking more than usual. The fact that she didn’t even call him some insulting nickname just further proved to Booker just how serious this stuff was to her. It made him feel a million times worse. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how important this was. I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.” He held out a pinky to her and she sighed. 

“What is it with you Baxters and pinky promises?” She grumbled, before interlocking their pinkies for a split second and letting go immediately after. “Now, how is this dating stuff gonna work? I’m not hugging you with all of that stench you got, dumpster boy.” She motioned in his general direction and Booker feigned offense.

“I’ll have you know, this is a manly musk.” He defended himself, flexing his arms for good measure. Tess rolled her eyes. “I don’t know, we’ll just go on a date next week, fake a huge fight, I’ll break up with you and leave you in tears! Done!” Booker looked proud of himself, while Tess looked unimpressed with his plan.

“Yeah, tears of happiness.” Booker shook his head in dismay. People just never got his brilliant plans. “Anyways, make that in two weeks. Me and Nia are going to Zeena’s party Friday night.”

“Speaking of Nia, does she seem weird to you?” Booker asked, genuinely concerned for his sister. He felt bad lying to her, but he was also worried about her in general. She seemed less herself since yesterday. At dinner last night, she barely spoke a word. 

Tess shrugged. “She’d probably weirded out by this.” She motioned between her and Booker. “I know I am.”

“Hey!’ Booker whined. “I’m not that bad of a boyfriend.”

“Fake boyfriend,” Tess reminded him, and Booker groaned. Girls were always so worried about specifics. Before he could defend his honor, Nia walked in, a bit more dressed up than usual. 

“Hey,” she greeted, the air thick with awkwardness as they all looked at each other. This was the first time they’d all been alone since the “date” yesterday.

He glanced over at Tess, who was gazing at Nia with the same expression that he used to see his dad look at his mom with. Suddenly, he felt like an idiot for never seeing it before. Tess was like, really obvious. “Uh,” He got up, feeling like he was intruding on a moment. “I’m gonna go shower now. See you guys later.” 

Tess seemed to break out of her trance and looked at him as if she forgot he was even there. “Later, B.” She said, and Nia ruffled his hair before taking his chair. Did she really have to mess with his waves?

“Make sure you actually use the soap this time,” Nia teased, and the two girls laughed, the awkwardness leaving the air as he walked away. Leave it to Nia to be the bigger person and break the ice between them. Maybe this wasn’t so bad, he could deal with two weeks of this.


	10. Tess Lies Again: School Edition!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for your patience and lovely comments, I really enjoy reading what you guys write :)

When Tess and Nia walked into school the next Monday, Tess swore she could feel everyone’s eyes on her. She shrugged it off, attributing it to her just being paranoid, but when Zeena walked over with an angry expression, she knew something was up. 

“Congratulations on your new boyfriend, Tess!” Zeena sneered, and Tess felt Nia tense up beside her. 

“Uh, how do you know about that?” Tess asked, not even caring about how worried she sounded. She didn't think any of the Baxter-Carter-Graysons would go around spreading their business. 

“Everyone knows! You two are like the new power couple!” One of Zeena’s followers squealed, to which she turned around to glare at her. “or not.”

“How-?” Before Tess could even ask, Nia silently showed her phone which was open to Sienna’s PeanutFace page. The top picture was of Tess and Booker on the roof, eating chocolate-covered strawberries. To anyone, it looked romantic, but Tess tried her best not to gag at the caption which read ‘Caught this cute couple on a cute date! Future homecoming king and queen alert?’ with a trail of random emojis after it, typical Sienna. 

Tess didn’t know what to do, she didn’t plan for this. It seemed like every time she and Booker got the situation under control, some other obstacle had to come up and ruin things. It also didn’t help that Nia was practically cutting off the circulation to her arm with how tight she was holding her. When did her best friend get so strong?

“Anyways,” Sienna said, glaring at Tess so hard she looked like she was trying to shoot lasers, “I just wanted to congratulate you! Must be so happy finally getting a boy’s attention, though I’m not sure why any boy would ever give you time of day.”

Tess opened her mouth to defend herself, but before she could get a word out Nia spoke. “I would ask where your boyfriend is, Zeena, but unlike you, I don’t see a girl’s worth in terms of her relationship to a boy.” Tess had to resist the urge to hug Nia right then and there. 

“Yeah!” Tess nodded in agreement and gave Zeena a smug smile. “Learn to empower other women, bro.”

Zeena rolled her eyes. “Not everything is one of your little fake activism stunts.” The bell rang and Zeena shouldered her bag, a bit too aggressively for Tess’ liking. “Later!” She put on the fakest smile Tess had ever seen as she sashayed away. 

Tess sighed in relief at being rid of Zeena and turned to look at Nia, who was frowning. She always tried to be confident, but Tess knew that being seen as a ‘fake activist’ was one of her biggest insecurities. “Hey, lighten up,” Tess nudged her softly so she could look at her and grinned, trying to look as encouraging as possible. “Your activism ain’t fake, she’s just a hater.”

Nia smiled softly and nudged Tess back playfully. “Yeah, you’re right. I can’t let her get to me.” She sounded more sure of herself, which made Tess smile wider. Even with all the stressful stuff going on, Nia could somehow make it all okay. Just seeing her smile could brighten Tess’s mood. 

“Hey, peanuts!” The two jumped apart in alarm and turned around to see Principal Kwan looking at them with disappointment. “Get to class!” She shooed the girls away before walking away to yell at some other loiterers.

When they showed up to class, Tess groaned in annoyance as she walked up to Curtis, who was sitting in her seat. “Pack it up, beanpole.”

Curtis looked up at her in confusion. “I figured you would want to sit with Booker now, since, you know.”

Tess frowned and looked around the room, noticing everyone’s eyes on her. She locked eyes with Booker, who discreetly motioned to the empty seat next to him. He obviously needed to talk to her, but couldn’t it wait? She always sat next to Nia, she didn’t think that would change over some fake boyfriend. 

“It’s fine, Tess,” Nia said through gritted teeth as she sat down next to Curtis, who grinned at her excitedly. It took everything in Tess not to smack the stupid grin off of his face. Curtis had been trying to get with Nia since the twin’s 13th birthday party, didn’t the guy know when to quit?

“Fine.” Tess huffed as she made her way to the back of the room to sit beside Booker. It was the perfect view to see Curtis excitedly chatting to Nia about some new video game that had come out. She knew Nia couldn’t care less, but she still pretended to listen intently which only fueled the boy even more. Stupid Curtis. 

“Whoa, what's up with you?” Booker whispered, pointing to her clenched fist. 

Tess glared at him. “What do you mean what's up with me? Everyone knows about this!” She gestured between them and whispered, hoping no one overheard. Luckily the attention was off them since their homeroom teacher had begun talking about upcoming events. 

Booker grinned. “Yeah! Isn’t it great? I heard we have a chance of being homecoming king and queen! We can get our names up on the wall, we’ll be legends!” 

Tess stared at him with her jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious, you’re enjoying this?” Booker passed her his phone under the desk, which she raised an eyebrow at. “Booker, I don’t care about your Peanut Face page.”

Booker rolled his eyes half-heartedly and pointed at his follower account. “Look at how many Peanut Pals I got after Sienna’s post! This-” he gestured between them as Tess had done before, “is totally building my rep!”

It took everything in Tess not to scream in frustration. “We were supposed to be lowkey. Besides, we’re breaking up before homecoming, anyways.” She reminded him, and his face fell. 

“Come on, Tess! I’m doing all this for you, the least you could do is help a brother out!’ He begged, clasping his hands together, and trying to use puppy-dog eyes on her. Even though Nia could get her to do anything with those eyes, it just wasn’t the same with Booker. 

Tess knew he had a point, really all of this was just to save Tess from having to come out and admit her feelings for Nia. Booker wasn’t really getting anything out of it. But Tess couldn’t even imagine having to keep up this charade for longer than two weeks, it was giving her headaches already and it had barely been a weekend. “I’ll think about it.” She decided, and Booker shrugged, probably thinking he had pushed his luck enough for today. 

They sat in silence for the rest of homeroom, mostly due to Tess being too busy glaring daggers at Curtis to engage in conversation. She really didn’t like that guy.


	11. Booker Gets Dating Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being so excited for this story :) I just started college so I'm not having as much time as I used to but I will try my best to keep being consistent with the updates. I'm not giving up on this story any time soon. (If you're interested I made a Spotify playlist with songs that I listen to while I write that remind me of the story/the ship. If you have any song suggestions let me know! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5n9XGLQZ0thJGznKJXtUeE?si=LZ6A17uuT-mgFJ8NhyUOuA )

It was surprising to everyone that Booker actually enjoyed working, but being at Radio E-Clips not only made Booker feel connected to his black culture, but also gave him a chance to learn a useful skill that could develop into a career one day. It was like a big “take that!” to all those teachers (and Nia) who said he would be living with his mom and Aunt Chelsea for the rest of his life. 

He was just finishing up sweeping when a random kid from school high-fived him on his way out. “Yo, good job on getting Tess. She has a killer free throw!” It was like being in a relationship brought him to the top of the school popularity chain. If he would have known this, he would have asked Tess to fake-date him way earlier. 

Mr.Arthur glanced up at Booker with an amused expression, pausing briefly while cutting some random man’s hair. “Now what's this I hear about you having a little lady?” He asked, and various eyes turned up to look at Booker, eager for some entertainment as they got their cuts or waited for their turn.

“Oh,” Booker smoothed down his apron, brushing off some loose strands of hair as he thought of what exactly to say. He hadn’t really thought about how his job might be affected by his fake relationship. “Yeah, I just started dating Tess.” He revealed, hoping that would be the end of it.

Unfortunately for Booker, everyone seemed to be leaning in, waiting for more. “Uh,” he looked at Mr.Arthur, who he considered like a third, snippier grandpa. There was no one else from school around, so he figured it wouldn't hurt to reveal a bit more information. “Well, she likes someone else, so it’s probably not gonna last. It feels like we’re not even really dating.” He told a bit of a white lie, making sure to make it sound like their relationship wasn’t completely fake, just a bit one-sided on his end. 

Several of the people around groaned in annoyance or gave him looks of pity. Mr.Arthur shook his head in disappointment. “Listen here, Booker,” Mr.Arthur handed the confused customer the clippers he was holding and walked over to put a hand on Booker’s shoulder. “No matter how this girl feels about you, you’re gonna act like a gentleman.”

Booker frowned in confusion. “Didn’t you hear the part where she likes someone else? Why should I treat her all great for nothing?” 

Mr.Arthur sighed and looked up at the sky as if asking God why his apprentice was so slow. “Now, you do plan on having more little ladies after her, right?” Booker nodded, he sure hoped Tess wasn’t his last girlfriend, that would really suck. “How do you expect other girls to like you if they see you not treating your lady well?”

Various customers nodded their heads in agreement and Booker could see where Mr.Arthur was going with this. “So if I want a chance with other girls I have to treat Tess like a gentleman?” 

Mr.Arthur clapped Booker on his back. “Now you’re getting it! But, remember, you should treat women like a gentleman regardless. In this case, I mean go the extra mile.” 

“Buy her flowers!” Some random customers yelled from across the room. “Take her to class!” Another piped up.

Booker nodded in understanding, his mind turning with all these new plans. He didn’t actively have a crush on anyone else at the moment, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to plan ahead. He didn’t want to be known as a bad boyfriend, that was for sure.

The next day at school, Booker grinned as he held out a handful of flowers to Tess in front of her locker. They were actually weeds, as Levi had pointed out before they left, but Booker figured no one would know the difference anyway. He’d even taken one of his mom’s ribbons to tie the stems together.

“Uh…” Tess hesitated, looking at the people staring at them all around the hallway. She plastered on a fake smile and took them. “Thanks! I love them!” She said loudly, and Booker sighed in relief that she went along with it. 

“She prefers chocolates,” Nia muttered from beside her, looking strangely annoyed as she sifted through her locker. Probably looking for a book she forgot or something, Booker figured. 

“Oh,” He frowned. “I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Nia closed her locker with a bit more force than necessary and ignored Booker as she gave Tess a strained smile. “Ready to go to class?” Tess tossed the flower in her locker before closing it and linking arms with Nia.

“Wait!” Booker scrambled to catch up with them and put his arm around Tess, who grimaced. “I wanted to walk my girl to class!” For some reason, both girls winced at that, obviously uncomfortable. 

“You know what?” Nia unlinked arms with Tess and shouldered her bag. “I’ve got to use the bathroom anyway.” She sped off in the opposite direction without a word, and Tess immediately shrugged his arm off of her shoulder. 

“Dude, what is up with you?” She snapped, glaring at him with a look that made Booker kind of regret it all. 

“I was just trying to be a good boyfriend!” He defended himself, trying not to be too hurt when Tess rolled her eyes. “I can’t have girls thinking I’m a bad boyfriend, then no one will want to date me!” 

“Maybe you should try showering instead,” Tess suggested, making it Booker’s turn to roll his eyes. “Just don’t call me your girl, that's… weird.” Booker didn’t think it was weird at all, but he didn’t want Tess to be more uncomfortable so he nodded in agreement. “And no hand-holding or putting your arm around me.”

“What can I do then?” Booker asked incredulously, she was giving him no options. She seemed to be thinking it through for a moment and slipped off her backpack before handing it to him. “You have to be joking.”

Tess just laughed in response and began walking towards the homeroom, Booker following behind and struggling to keep both bookbags on his shoulders.


	12. Tess Gets Jealous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading and being so patient with me :) I'm getting more into the groove of school and time management, so I should have more frequent updates! Please comment and let me know what you think/what you want to see more of!

Tess could deal with Booker’s annoyingly extravagant “great boyfriend” publicity stunts, she could deal with the awkwardness that surrounded the Baxter’s table whenever she went over for dinner lately, she could even deal with having to hear her mom give her a responsibility talk last night when she overheard Ms. mention her new boyfriend. What she couldn’t deal with? Curtis. 

Tess didn’t like school very much, but she never minded homeroom. For one, there was no homework, and two, she got to sit next to Nia and play hangman or tic-tac-toe for a whole period. Having to sit next to Booker wouldn't be so bad if Curtis wasn’t the one sitting next to Nia.

Tess couldn’t take it anymore. So, when she and Nia were sitting at the café doing homework and snacking after school, Tess blurted out “So, what you think about Curtis?” a little too loudly, causing some disapproving glares from other café-goers. 

“What?” Nia asked, not even looking up from her math work. When she got into the homework zone it was hard to get her out, but Tess had more pressing matters than algebra. 

“Like, Curtis. You know, Booker’s friend. Glasses, not that good looking.” She reached across the table to gently lower Nia’s notebook onto the table and hopefully snag her best friend’s attention.   
The other girl sighed and put her pencil in the spine of her math notebook, giving her best friend a pointed look. “What about him?”

Tess shrugged. “You two seem like you’re vibing.”

“Maybe.” Nia gazed at her best friend curiously, and Tess suddenly got nervous. It was like Nia was analyzing her, trying to read her thoughts. “Why are you so interested in our vibes?”

Was it getting hot in the café? Tess felt hot. Was she sweating? “Just asking.” She replied, trying to sound nonchalant. 

Tess knew what jealousy felt like. It was like when Miles and Nia got to have a romantic Halloween date even though Halloween was always their thing. It was like when Nia met that cute French guy and they got to have picnics on the roof that Tess wasn’t invited to. She hated that feeling. 

Tess went back to her work without a word, scribbling in random numbers for the math assignment. She was aware of Nia’s eyes on her, and looked up to see her friend trying to hold in an amused smile. “What?” she snapped, a little harsher than she intended. 

Nia cleared her throat and fixed her expression. “Nothing. You just seem a little… annoyed? What’s your issue with Curtis?”

“I don’t got no issues with Curtis.” Tess replied through gritted teeth. 

She almost swore she saw a glint in Nia’s eye, but the girl’s poker face was so hardcore that she couldn’t be sure. “Right... so you wouldn't mind if I went on a date with him?” She asked, and it took everything in Tess not to scream in frustration.

Tess tried her best to put on a convincing smile. “You can date whoever you want, even if he’s a huge nerd.” With that, she closed her math book. There was too much going on in her head for her to concentrate on some stupid problems. “I’m getting another cookie.”

Before Nia could say anything else, she stood up and made her way to the counter. After about a minute she returned to the table, holding out Nia’s favorite pastry, something with an accent that Tess couldn’t pronounce and only tried to when she wanted to make Nia laugh. 

Nia looked up from her phone with a mischievous expression, which for some reason made Tess’s flight or fight response go up. She knew that look. What could her best friend have possibly planned in the one minute it took Tess to get them more snacks? Damn, Nia worked fast. 

“Thanks!” Nia gratefully took the pastry and started eating it like nothing was happening. The next red flag was when Nia placed her phone face down on the table. She tried to do it as casually as possible, but Tess knew she was hiding something. 

“Alright,” Tess sat, setting down her cookie and crossing her arms. “What you do?”

Nia put a hand to her chest, feigning offense. “Now, why would you think I’m up to something?” Tess just raised an eyebrow and Nia bit her lip to hide the smile that was threatening to escape. 

“Hey, is that a court justice?” Tess pointed behind Nia, and the girl turned so fast she almost fell out of her seat. 

“Where? I hope it's a woman! Oh my god, do you think they’re on their way to a-” After seeing that there were, in fact, just a few teenagers sitting behind her, Nia turned back to see Tess holding up her phone in triumph. “Oh, you’re good.”

“I knew you wouldn't be able to resist old people in suits,” Tess replied with a shrug and opened Nia’s phone to see Curtis’ dms. “A date,” Tess grumbled, and raised an eyebrow when Nia told her to keep reading. Why would she keep torturing herself? “...a double date?” Tess gulped as she read the next message, realizing why Nia was acting so secretive. 

“Yeah! Won’t it be fun? Just me and you… and Booker and Curtis!” Nia grinned, and Tess suddenly felt sick to her stomach. That sounded like the complete opposite of fun.

Without a second thought, Tess put the phone down and said, “no.” She could barely keep from insulting Curtis during homeroom, there was no way she could keep her cool on a whole date.

Nia reached for her hand and held it on the table, which was Tess’s first strike. Then, came strike two with the puppy dog eyes. “Come on, please? I want you there. I even chose your favorite burger place.”

At strike three, Tess couldn’t help the small smile that appeared. Even when she was supposed to be on a date with someone else, she still thought of Tess, at least that was something. Nia gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she sighed in defeat. “Fine.”

Nia grinned, but the mischievous look from before was still there, which confused Tess. Wasn’t Nia done plotting? Nevertheless, she decided to just. let it go, maybe she was just imagining things. After all, Nia was holding her hand right now, not Curtis’, and in that moment, that was all that mattered.


	13. Booker Becomes a Genius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the delay, but balancing school and work makes it hard to find time to write. nevertheless, i wanted to post today as a way to take my mind (and hopefully yours) off of the U.S election. this is a pivotal moment in history but its important to practice self care. please enjoy and i will have the date chapter up soon :)

Booker usually enjoyed hanging out with his friends as much as the next guy, but he had to say he enjoyed it a whole lot more when he was in a relationship. The guys treated him like a king and practically took notes whenever Booker did anything as if, by copying him, they too could get a girl to look in their direction. 

The best part of it all was Booker getting to be player one as the guys gathered around The Guntz’s television and played ForkKnife. 

The Guntzs and him were about to win when Curtis sprang up and hollered. The two boys practically dropped their remotes in surprise and turned to glare at their friend. “Hello,” Booker called, “trying to win here!”

Curtis shut off the tv and sat on the loveseat, leaning forward to show the guys he meant business. “I am no longer the same Curtis you knew 20 minutes ago. Now, I am a man.”

Booker grimaced in disgust, “Gross, we don’t need to hear about your puberty.”

Curtis shook his head and cleared his throat. “No, I mean I’m going on a date!” He said excitedly, and the boys broke out in laughter. Out of the three of them, Curtis was the most awkward when it came to girls. Last time he tried to ask one on a date, his pants fell down and everyone saw his Berry Buddys underwear. 

“Yeah right,” said The Guntz as he wiped away a tear. “Who would have possibly agreed to go on a date with you?”

Curtis frowned and fixed his posture, trying to assert his dominance. “Actually, she asked me out.”

“No way!” Booker tried to keep in his laughter again. “Who? Madison? Zeena? April?”

Curtis crossed his arms, looking smug. “Nia.”

The laughter stopped suddenly, and the room became thick with tension. The Guntz looked between Booker and Curtis expectantly, as if waiting for a fight to break out. His friends weren’t the violent types, but there was a first time for everything. 

Instead, Booker laughed and patted Curtis’ shoulder. “Good one! Who really asked you out?”

Curtis shrugged Booker’s hand off of his shoulder. “Nia. Baxter-Carter. Your sister.”

Booker looked down at the floor silently as he took it in. Not only did Nia get to have Booker’s own (fake) girlfriend crushing on her, but she got one of Booker’s best friends too. It was like he never got to have his own people, people who would choose Nia over him anytime. He was tired of being second to his sister. 

“Before you get mad, remember she asked me out! You wouldn’t want me to break your sister’s heart, would you?” Curtis asked, holding his arms out like ‘what was I supposed to do?!’

Booker groaned and got up, grabbing his bag. 

“Booker, come on!” The Guntz pointed to the television. “We didn’t even get a dub!” 

Booker gave his loyal friend an apologetic look. “We can play tomorrow,” he paused to glare at Curtis. “As long as the ultimate betrayer doesn’t come.”

Curtis scoffed. “Oh, so you get to date your sister’s best friend but when she does it, it’s a problem?” 

Booker stopped in his tracks, his hand resting on the doorknob. 

“Uh...” The Guntz spoke up, “he kind of has a point.”

Booker hated it with every ounce of his being, but it made sense. Nia was pretty sad when she found out about him and Tess, and he supposed he finally knew how it felt. Booker was a passionate guy, but he was also a fair one. 

He sighed and turned around to face Curtis. “All right, fine. Whatever. Just keep it out of my face.”

Curtis raised an eyebrow. “Says the guy who gives his girl flowers in the halls every day?”

“Hey, don’t push it.”

“Anyways, its gonna be pretty hard to keep it out of your face considering its a double date.” Curtis mentioned casually, going back to typing on his phone. 

Booker’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there buddy. Double date?”

Curtis proudly showed Booker the messages from Nia, which he had to read twice to believe. Why would Nia want to go on a double date with him and Tess if she could barely stand to see them together? and why with Curtis of all people?

“Well,” The Guntz said, looking over Booker’s shoulder to read the messages “this is gonna be interesting. You guys know where I can get a front row seat?”

When Booker got back to his building that night, he marched right over to Tess’ door. 

She didn’t bother to greet him when she opened the door. “Heard the news?” 

“Yep.” Booker walked past her and sat on the couch with a huff. “We have to get out of it, maybe chicken pox?”

Tess shook her head as she closed the door and sat on the armchair. “Nia knows I got chicken pox already. I told her I’d go, no getting out of this one.”

Booker looked at Tess with a raised eyebrow. “Why would you tell her that?”

Tess shrugged shyly. “I dunno. She asked.”

Booker groaned into one of Mrs.O’Malley’s decorated pillows, which kind of hurt since the one he picked up was bedazzled. “Nia really has you and Curtis wrapped around her finger! Why do I have to suffer?”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Calm down, B. Just think of all those peanut pals you’ll get once you post pics of the date.”

Booker stopped groaning and removed the pillow from his face with a smile. “Wait, you’re right! Double date means double the likes! I’m a genius!”

“Hey,” Tess frowned “it ain’t your idea.”

“Shhh...” Booker put a finger in the air. “You hear that?” Tess shook her head. “Thats the sound of a genius’ brain at work.”

Tess rolled her eyes, and opened the door. “Man, get out of my apartment.” 

“Suit yourself!” Booker called as he left. “One day, people will pay for this!”

“Yeah,” Tess called back. “They’ll pay for tomatoes to throw at you, genius!”

Booker barely even heard her as he walked into his apartment, he was too busy figuring out what to wear to his internet-breaking double date on Friday.


	14. Tess Goes on a Date

Sometimes, Tess let herself imagine a reality where Nia actually liked her back. 

She let herself indulge in this reality as she did Nia’s makeup for their date, which she also let herself imagine would be just her and Nia. A girl could dream. 

“What are you thinking about?” Nia asked, bringing Tess out of her thoughts. She must have been staring- that's what she got for thinking things she shouldn’t have. 

“Nothing,” Tess reassured, letting out a breath as she put her makeup brushes back into her bag. Stupid answer, she should have said food or something. ‘Nothing’ was literally the most suspicious thing she could have possibly said. She hoped Nia wouldn't start to pry.

As she zipped the bag up, Nia put a hand on her arm. “Wait,” she said, “can I try some lip gloss?” 

Lip gloss was usually more Tess’ thing, so she hadn’t bothered putting it on Nia, but, as per the other girl’s request, she pulled out her favorite flavor, cherry, and held it out to Nia. Instead of taking it and applying it herself, Nia tilted her head up. 

Tess’s heart began to beat faster for some reason she couldn’t really comprehend as she slowly uncapped the lipgloss. “Uh, a little more up,” Tess said, and Nia tilted her head more, a little too much. “No, down.” Nia went too down. 

Without really thinking, Tess cupped Nia’s cheek with her hand and gently positioned her face so that she could apply the lip gloss comfortably. “Perfect,” she mumbled as she finished applying. 

Now that her mind wasn’t on the lipstick, she was much more aware of their proximity. They were close. Too close. Tess could feel Nia’s breath on her face. She moved her eyes up to Nia’s, but the girl’s own eyes were trained on Tess’s mouth. Did she have something in her teeth? 

Before she could say or process anything, the door flew open and the two girls jumped away from each other to see a very confused Levi standing in the hall. “Uh, your dates are here.”

Despite herself, Tess knew she was blushing furiously. She felt like she’d just been caught doing something bad, really bad. Levi looking between the two of them suspiciously didn’t help, either. It wasn’t like anything was actually going on, right? Tess hoped she was just overreacting. 

After another moment of awkward silence, Tess couldn’t take it anymore and shooed Levi away. “We’ll be there in a sec. Ain’t you ever heard of knocking, thumb drive?” With one last look, Levi closed the door, and the girls were alone once again. 

Tess glanced at Nia, who looked mildly frustrated and deep in thought. Maybe she really hated it when people didn’t knock. “You ready?” Tess asked, and Nia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

“Oh… yeah, right, date! Totally ready!” She smiled a little too wide and practically dragged Tess outside so fast that she didn't even have time to analyze anything that just happened. They made it to the door of the apartment, where the two boys were excitedly chatting about some new feature for a game they’d been playing. 

Upon seeing the girls, Curtis straightened his posture and held out his arm. “M’lady,” he said, a little too smugly for Tess’ taste, and it seemed like Booker thought the same thing as they exchanged a glance. 

“You know, this is why it took you so long to get a date, buddy,” Booker half-whispered loud enough for everyone to hear as he patted his friend’s back and headed out the door. Tess followed him, biting her lip to keep from laughing and the two slyly high-fived before being followed by an amused-looking Nia and blushing Curtis. 

Tess felt like the train ride lasted forever, though she didn’t know if that was due to her hunger or the really awkward silence that had covered the group since they left the apartment. Though, Tess had to admit that watching Curtis squirm every time Nia even so much as glanced in his direction was pretty entertaining. 

By the time they got to the restaurant, it seemed that he worked up his nerve because as soon as they squeezed into the booth and ordered, he not-so-casually slid his arm behind Nia. Tess wanted to vomit. 

Before she could, Booker pulled out his phone. “How bout a pic for my PeanutFace story?” He put his arm around her and they huddled together for a picture, which made Tess realize just how much body spray Curtis was wearing, it was like the dude robbed an Axe factory. 

As Booker busied himself with trying to figure out the perfect caption, Tess was forced to engage in conversation with the ‘couple’ across from them. “So, Tess, think you’ll get on the high school basketball team? I heard they’re super talented.” Curtis asked, and even Booker looked up from his phone with raised eyebrows. Man, who asked that?

Before Tess could answer, Nia piped up. “Well, Tess is super talented, too. They’d be stupid not to put her on the team.” She gave her best friend a thankful smile, and it took everything in her not to stick her tongue out at Curtis.   
“What sports team are you trying out for, Curtis?” Tess asked, knowing full well all the boys did was sit around and play video games together. Not that there was anything bad with that, but if he wanted to insult her sick basketball skills she had to hit him where it hurt, too. Two could play that game.

“Uh…” He nervously glanced at Nia, who was looking at him with an expectant expression. “football! Yeah, I’ve been hitting the gym.”

Booker, who had just posted to his PeanutFace story, gave Curtis a puzzled look. “Really? When? You’re literally always online whenever I get on ForkKnife.” Curtis tried to subtly tell Booker to shut up, but even if Tess were across the restaurant she could have spotted that. 

“Aw, it’s all right, beanpole, sports aren’t for everyone,” Tess tried to say as casually as possible, “maybe you can try out to be our waterboy? There’s even a little button you can press on the jug.” 

Curtis opened his mouth, presumably to defend his honor, but Nia shot up from her seat before he could say anything. “I gotta use the bathroom! Tess, come with me?” Though it was phrased like a question, Tess figured by the pointed look she was receiving that it was more of a demand. Oh boy, she was in trouble.

As soon as the bathroom door closed behind them, Nia crossed her arms. “What was that?” 

Tess shrugged nonchalantly. “What was what?”

“You said you didn’t have any issues with Curtis,” Nia reminded her, “so why are you coming for him like that?”

Tess scoffed, “He came for me first! Dude said I don't have any skills! Was I just supposed to take that?”

“Really? Is that it? Cause it seems to me like maybe you’re jealous.” 

Tess froze.

Jealous? That made no sense, why would Nia think she was jealous of her if she already had a (fake) boyfriend? Unless she meant that Tess was jealous of Curtis? But that wouldn't work unless she knew Tess had a crush on her. What was going on? Tess had never been more confused in her entire life. 

“So, you are?” Nia asked, her voice a little softer. 

“Who would I be jealous of? You?” Tess spat, only realizing too late that her tone had been too harsh. 

Nia took a step back, mouth open in shock. “What is that supposed to mean?”

In all honesty, Tess didn’t know what anything meant right now. She wished she could dodge conversations as she dodged in basketball, but life didn’t really work out that way. “No, wait, I-” She tried to find the words to change what she meant, to figure out a way to fix things without telling Nia the full truth, but her brain was empty. 

“That’s all I needed to know.” With that, Nia walked out, leaving a very confused Tess standing alone in the bathroom. What just happened?

Luckily, the food was there when she got back, so she didn’t have to talk much for the remainder of the date. Either way, she wasn’t so sure she could have talked much if she wanted to, everything felt so heavy, especially when Nia started leaning more and more on Curtis as the date went on. 

When they got home, Tess didn’t even bother going over to the Baxter-Carter's apartment, she just wiped off her makeup and crawled into bed, wondering how she managed to mess things up so badly. Why was Nia so confusing? and why was Curtis so damn annoying?

Zeena’s sleepover tomorrow was bound to be awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tysm for reading! i finish the term today so i will most likely be updating more frequently from now on :) I am also working on some Lumity fanfiction so stay tuned for that if you're into The Owl House! (I also have a Tess x Nia one-shot in the works as well) (as you may be able to tell, the imagination has been going off lately) stay safe and take care of yourselves!!


	15. Booker Helps a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated, sorry about that. Instead of thriving during the break, it felt like a weird transitional period. I'll actually be trying to update more frequently and pace myself. I hope you're all having a happy holiday, winter break, New Year, or just a really really nice Wednesday. I love reading comments, thank you guys so much for still reading this story and sticking around :)

Booker may not have been on Nia’s level of smartness, but he knew tension when he saw it. Or more like, when he felt it. And the tension between Tess and Nia during the date was suffocating. Luckily, Curtis was somehow more oblivious than him or perhaps was just too busy trying to impress Nia, because he didn't seem to notice and in fact texted the group chat with The Guntz gushing about how well it went. 

The group chat with him, Levi, Tess, and Nia remained silent the entire night, though, and by the time morning came and Tess didn’t rush through for breakfast, Booker knew things were really bad. Even Levi, who somehow managed to avoid this whole situation, looked uncomfortable as the three kids sat around the dining table, eating their cereal in total silence. 

“So...” Levi broke the silence, looking between the twins with a concerned expression. “how was your date?”

“Fine.” They answered in sync, though Nia sounded slightly too aggressive in her answer. Booker and Levi raised their eyebrows at her, expecting an elaboration, but she just looked down at her cereal. 

“I saw Booker’s PeanutPage post, it looked fun.” Levi tried again, and Nia sighed. 

“I’m suddenly not hungry!” She declared and pushed her half-finished bowl of cereal to Booker. Without another word, she left, and the boys were left alone. 

“Was Curtis really that bad?” Levi asked. 

Booker shook his head as he started on the rest of Nia’s Cereal. He couldn’t just let some Berry Buddies go to waste. “Pretty sure she and Tess got into a fight or something.”

Levi looked surprised and slightly confused. “Really? They seemed super close just before they left.” 

Booker thought he felt something off about that sentence, especially with the weird way Levi said it. “What do you mean?”

The younger boy’s face fell, and Booker was one hundred percent sure he was hiding something at this point. “Nothing!” He blurted out as he got up to take his dishes to the kitchen. “Nothin at all! Nothing out of the ordinary!” 

“Levi!” Booker called back, following his younger brother to the kitchen. “Dude, I know when you’re lying. What do you mean by that?”

Levi bit the inside of his cheek, trying to think of another lie, probably, before he sighed in defeat. “It’s not my thing to tell. You need to ask Tess.”

Booker groaned in annoyance. “Come on man, we tell each other everything!” 

Levi put his hands up in defense. “Not my thing! Why don’t you go ask your girlfriend?”

“Fake girlfriend,” Booker reminded him, and Levi put a hand on his shoulder. 

“It's a miracle you’ve managed to keep it this long, why don’t you yell it louder for the people in 3C to hear?”

Booker rolled his eyes. “Fine, if my own brother, my own comrade won’t help me, I’m going to Tess’!” Without another word, he placed his bowls in the sink and headed out of the apartment. 

“Hey! I'm not washing these!” Levi called, gesturing to the bowls that Booker left.

Booker didn’t even turn around as he shut the door. “Can’t hear you over the betrayal!” With that, he made his way across the hall and knocked on the door, almost jumping in surprise when Tess opened the door looking like she got run over by her dad’s truck. Multiple times. “Tess! You look… great…?”

“What do you want?” Tess asked, her voice cracking almost as much as Levi’s. 

Booker clasped his hands together and fluttered his lashes in an attempt to look as innocent as possible. “Well, after the date yesterday you and Nia seemed like you had some beef, and Nia didn’t even finish her berry buddies this morning, then Levi said something about you two being very close before we left but he didn’t tell me exactly how, which was so fake of him, and then I come over here and you’re looking like a hot mess,” He explained in one long breath, and then picked some lint off of Tess’s shoulder. “Uh, no offense.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Man, no way did you give me a whole speech and still not tell me what you want.”

“I wanted to see if you’re okay,” he admitted, surprising himself with how genuine he sounded. Even if Tess wasn’t really his girlfriend, she was still his friend, and he cared about her. 

Tess sighed and motioned for him to come in and they sat on the couch. The apartment’s decor was very loud and bright, but it still felt really quiet, which made Booker understand why Tess liked hanging out at their place so much. He couldn’t imagine not having Nia or Levi around when their moms were working. He’d feel so lonely.

“There's pizza in the oven if you want,” Tess offered, breaking the silence.

“For breakfast?”

She shrugged. “My stomach has no clock,” she said simply.

“Anyways,” Booker tried to get back on topic, “why are you and Nia fighting?” he asked, trying not to sound too prying.

Tess sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know.” There was a pause as if she was trying to figure out whether or not to continue. “She said some stuff…” she recounted the events that transpired in the bathroom yesterday, and Booker listened intently, throwing in a nod or a ‘yikes’ at appropriate moments. 

When she finished, Booker let out a breath. “That’s crazy.” There was silence as Tess looked at him expectantly. “What?”

“Yo, that's it? Where’s the advice?” Tess asked, and Booker shrugged. He didn’t plan this far ahead. He was the plan guy, not the advice guy. 

He rubbed his chin, hoping it would help him think. When he looked at Tess, disheveled and exhausted, he knew what they had to do. “We need to break up,” he decided, trying not to think about all the sweet, sweet perks he was giving up. Good-bye, Homecoming crown. 

Tess was silent, which Booker took as a sign to continue. “You guys have been weird ever since we started fake dating,” he pointed out, and she nodded in agreement. “So we just break up, you two hug it out or whatever, and everything is back to normal!”

Tess sighed and hugged one of her mother’s sequined pillows close to her body. “I don’t think it’s that easy, B. Plus, I still owe you a date to homecoming.”

Booker shrugged, trying to make it seem like it wasn't that big a deal. He could see how hurt Tess was by this whole situation. “You can find me another date to homecoming. Preferably one who actually likes me and not my sister.” 

Tess managed a small smile, which made Booker feel good. At least he did something right. 

“You know, for a fake boyfriend you weren’t half bad,” Tess admitted, making Booker smile even wider. 

“Be sure to spread that around.” He encouraged her as he got up. “Make sure to leave out the fake part though.”

Tess rolled her eyes half-heartedly as she rose to close the door behind him. “Thanks, I’ll write that down.”

As Booker walked back to his apartment, he felt good. Of course, there was that part of him which questioned ‘what if?’ everything had turned out differently, and Tess actually liked him. He didn’t like that part. He wanted instead to put this all past them and see Tess and his sister happy again. Everything was better when they were together, as much as it pained him to admit it.


End file.
